"Pivoting, changing your mind and yes failing is part of the process" with Sophia Clark
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After graduating cum laude with 2 Bachelor's degrees, Sophia Clark obtained a Master in Interior Design in Florence Italy. Having lived for 18 years abroad (Ecuador, Qatar, Mexico, Spain, Peru, France, Italy) and having travelled extensively, she has discovered a wide variety of cultures and aesthetic designs that have enriched significantly her artistic abilities. In addition to other initiatives, and having worked with design icons such as Campion Platt and Sam Robin, she is the founder and creative director of Galiatea who specializes in curating and designing luxury custom furniture and accessories from Brazil and Peru. As an award-winning furniture designer, she showcased her collections in some of the world prominent trade shows in London, Dubai, Italy, Beijing and Peru.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I was born in California from a French mother who passed onto me her love of art and a passion for traveling and an American father who is an International lawyer and who fights for religious freedom and embracing diversity. At age 1, we moved to Quito, Ecuador, then we spent seven years in Doha, Qatar. Then from age 11 to 15 , we lived in Mexico city, and from 16 to 18, in Lima Peru. After finishing my Bachelors in Interior Design and in Marketing in the United States, I decided to do a Master in Florence, Italy. Through my youth, I was privileged to spend a lot of time in Europe (France and Spain mostly), in Brazil, in the Dominican Republic, and to travel to more than 65 countries. I took my first international flight being 6 months old and until the pandemic, I had never stopped traveling.
What inspired you to start your business?
I was in Brazil visiting my parents. I had just returned from the world’s largest furniture tradeshow, Salone del Mobile in Milan, for the first time. I had spent hours upon hours admiring the beautifully Italian designed pieces but realized after a few days that everything was a blur- every product looked like slight variations of themselves- the real distinguishing factor were the amazing booths the companies had designed and built! We went to visit a small artisanal village that seemed lost in the wilderness and I started walking down the narrow cobblestone street. In front of each small house, a small table displayed cute souvenirs. I was looking at a few small sculpted Espirito Santo doves when I heard the noise of an artisan working. I went inside and saw him bending over a small piece of driftwood similar to the ones in front of his house/store. But around him, on the walls of his house were grandiose sculptures of Espirito Santos, absolutely stunning pieces, whose designs and details clearly showed the artisan’s mastery. I marveled at them but quickly understood that no tourist would ever buy those…no suitcase could ever take them. And it hit me like a ton of bricks- THIS, THIS is what was missing! There are artisans from all around the world who do not have the privilege of showcasing their work in tradeshows like Salone del Mobile, but their craftsmanship, techniques and use of exotic materials are just as valuable and beautiful… their work had a soul, a uniqueness that is so specific to handcrafted pieces. I thought however that few people got to admire their talents and that sadly, with the rise of mass production and cutting costs to increase profits, we might slowly be losing these artisans’ gifts. I thought then and still think that there is a thirst in the world for what is authentic and unique, and because of that, the work of those artisans from all over the world should be represented in the furniture and decorative accessory market. Their traditional techniques combined with contemporary designs could be the next movement in sustainable luxury design. And I decided to create Galiatea.
Where is your business based?
Houston, TX.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I had the vision, I had a marketing degree, I thought I knew what I was doing…wrong! I first came up with a name: Galiatea. It is the fusion of two words: Gaia ( Mother Earth) and Galatea, the muse of art created by Pygmalion as the perfect woman and the representation of the perfect work of art, or in other words, the fusion of nature and art. I then incorporated, spent a lot of time meeting with artisans in Peru and Brazil to find the ones I wanted to work with, found an associate in Peru. It took three years to develop the unique technique we are using and to create the pieces of furniture and accessories. I then took hundred of pictures to put in my newly created website, determined prices with shipping. I talked to local lawyers, shippers, business consultants, attended trade shows and finally launched the website.
My advice would be to start small, but start. Instead of building the entire infrastructure (and not being sure if you will succeed)- build and test as you go. I waited to have everything in place before launching and I wish I would have launched a lot sooner.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
In addition to the trade shows, I reached out to thousands of interior designers. Being one of them, I know what they are struggling with. Their clients want unique pieces that have a soul and a story, yet all they have at their disposal are mostly machine-made, soulless pieces. Their clients, many of them being millennials, also care about contributing, making a difference, having an impact in the world. These clients also care about sustainable materials…I reached out through magazines, emails, etc…and offered a solution for all the designer’s needs: unique handmade pieces with a soul and a story from master artisans. Those contemporary designed pieces are made with sustainable materials and buying them enables those artisans to promote their cultural heritage and to sustain them economically. It helps the designers, the clients and the artisans.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
An obvious challenge is to find artisans that can create luxury items. Many are used to restrict themselves to unexpensive souvenirs, living from day to day. Telling them to spend a week or more to create one piece takes some convincing. I overcame it by simply paying them their fair market value (rather than bargaining or trying to cut costs) so that they can take the time to create what is expected. I work exclusively with artisans that can embrace the vision and the joy of rediscovering art through their creation. Another big challenge was overcoming my tendency to do it all by myself. Being an entrepreneur is a very lonely journey. It wasn’t until a friend shared with me their resources that I was able to build a community and then I had a group of people to talk to and ask advice from.
When you start a business, you treat it as if it were your baby. Your blood, sweat and tears go into it. You get so attached to the business, it’s hard to separate your personal life from it. You are so invested personally into it. So when I used to get feedback, I used to take it personally- it definitely stunted my growth. Once I stopped taking things personally and detached myself from the process, I was able to grow and rebuild my brand the way it was originally intended.
How do you stay focused?
My artisans keep me focused. I committed myself to let their art shine through the world, to help them promote their heritage, to help their community through our initiative “Heart to Art”, giving 10% of the profit back to education and infrastructure of their community. I am not going to let them down. They deserve a place now more than ever in the design world. If nothing is done in this world of mass-produced items, slowly those artisans will have to retire their generational skills to provide for their family, and the world cultural heritage will continue to slowly shrink under globalization and mass markets.
I also really want to shift the narrative: Luxury and beauty do not need to be defined by a few brands, they can be found in the carving of a mirror, in the softness of an Alpaca pillow- in the authenticity of an artisan.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
I think there is a dimension in Galiatea that is truly unique. You can find organizations that sell handmade products from villages with a desire to help them economically. Galiatea wants to raise the handmade product to the level of luxury product, creations that would fit perfectly well in a multi-million-dollar home. The artisans that we work with are master artisans, they have the ability to create those luxury products and we work together to unite their ancestral skills and our contemporary design. These artisans also are very sensitive about their cultural heritage and part of Galiatea’s mission consists in educating and valorizing diversity. Which is why we are uniting with travel agencies to offer trips after the pandemic that will enable our clients to go to the villages, so they can meet the artisans, understand their culture, design with them what they want for their home. Suddenly that central piece in your living room is not just a beautiful piece, it has a story, it is linked personally to your experience. With time, we are hoping that Galiatea will become a lifestyle brand including fashion, accessories etc for clients looking for socially conscious beautiful handmade products, made of sustainable materials.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
At the heart of my marketing strategy was really the question: what did I really want to accomplish? I realized it went beyond creating beautiful, unique creations. Once I really embraced the entire vision of the company, its education goal, its social dimension and was able to share it through summits, blogs, etc.. this is when I was the most successful and effective.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
You think you know but you don’t know anything. Pivoting, changing your mind and yes failing is part of the process. Always remember that your business isn’t you, that you don’t need to take things so personally, that it will take a lot more money and time than you think and a lot of help from others. I guess being teachable and looking for resources that can help you such as accelerator cohorts and finding a mentor or coach, etc would be my best advice.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
Gary Vaynerchuck’s podcasts: when I was feeling like a complete failure, I would turn to his podcasts, and be reminded that everyone comes from somewhere and empires aren’t built in a day, that I need to be patient with myself and that it was my duty in life to pursue what I love. “Passion is priceless”
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
I use so many resources like Shopify, Active Campaign, ClickUp, Evernote, and so forth but I really enjoy Later.com as a social media scheduling tool and Acadium to find excellent marketing interns.
Who is your business role model? Why?
Sarah Blakely, the CEO of Spanx is not only a strong powerful business woman but she is a philanthropist, the first one to join “Giving pledge”, and she is now donating millions to the Red backpack fund which support the recovery and revitalization of women-owned businesses.
How do you balance work and life?
Hard question…anybody who knows me would tell you I am not good at this (not good being an understatement). But I do have goals for 2021 to start taking days off, to start being more intentional about living in the moment and self-caring. But the struggle is real!
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
I have the most adorable yorkie and when I need to decompress I will chase him around and it helps tremendously! Apart from that, I have great friends and we can just have long fun conversations. And if all else fails, nothing beats a long bath with essential oils while watching a good stand-up comic to cheer me up.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
How long do you have?? Well to start, I am planning something quite unique in collaboration with a great friend and Feng Shui specialist. So many clients have contacted me to help them reorganize their space, especially now with the pandemic. They want their environment to help them thrive and to also be a relaxing haven of peace. What they are asking goes well beyond a beautiful interior. My Feng Shui specialist friend faces the same need but a different issue: she is called to help after the interior designer has installed everything and she has to reorganize the space. So to save time and money for our customers, we are hosting a Masterclass which will lead into our 12 Week Workshop to teach them how to create their dream home themselves (and with our help of course) using both Interior Design principles combined with Feng Shui. This will start in January and end in April.
I will be speaking at the “Do Good and Make Money Virtual Summit 2021” which will take place Feb 1st -8th 2021, will also be releasing my first book in February and planning to host a Summit by Summer 2021!
How can our readers connect with you?
You can find me on Instagram as: @embrace_the_wander and @galiateacollection
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/galiateacollection
Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/galiatea/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-julia-clark
Website: www.galiatea.com
12 Week Workshop: workshop.galiatea.com